Let's imagine for a moment that the world was slightly different and Windows did not come pre-installed on most computers. Computer makers would still have to install something to test their systems and the obvious choice would be Linux. Its easy to install, it runs on most everything, works with most hardware, etc.

So, you get your shiny new computer and since you don't know nuttin about this Linux stuff you go and buy a copy of Windows XP (to upgrade to an older more familiar experience). You pop the CD in the drive, see the message:

Setup is inspecting your computer's hardware configuration.

and then the screen goes blank and... nothing, nada, blank screen and that's it. How do I know this? I know this cuz I've just wasted two days trying to make a dual-boot system that had Linux installed first.

More Here